With Little Help From Our Friends
by Silver Wind
Summary: TeniMyubased ZukaFuji. Do we really not have anything to talk about, Tezuka?


**Pairing** : ZukaFuji (... or is it FujiZuka in disguise? XP)   
**Disclaimer** : **SO** not mine. All belong to a certain mangaka who has written, even on the 1st volume's flap, _'When you meet me on the streets, say hi to me, okay?'_ Konomi-sensei, I worship you because you've indirectly made TeniMyu exists. Thank you.   
**Warning** : I suggest you don't imagine TeniPuri or AniPuri's Tezuka and Fuji here. Imagine them on TeniMyu. Imagine Takigawa Eiji and Kimeru. *nosebleeds*

a Tennis no Oujisama fanfiction:   
**... With Little Help From Our Friends**   
by **Silver Wind**   
silverwind at yaoi-front dot org

As always, he was working at his apartment when his cell phone rang. Leaving the office at 5 p.m. didn't necessarily mean that he's leaving his work there too.

"Tezuka desu."

A soft laugh answered him, "Am I interrupting you?"

"...," the handsome young man put his pen down on his book, "No."

"Can I come, then?"

Silence.

"Aa."

He could practically hear the smile in the other's voice, "I'll be there in 15 minutes. See you, Tezuka."

"Aa."

If you're a former student of Seishuun Gakuen junior and senior high schools, you've probably heard that Tezuka Kunimitsu graduated from university in spring. Although his ex-juniors on junior and senior high probably would mutter and stare in disbelief about the choice of his major, Tezuka calmly accepted his cum laude degree in psychology. His thesis about psychological therapy for athletes in relation to their physical injuries received a lot of attention, more so when people realized that Tezuka was an ex-athlete himself. And on the age of 24, the former captain of Seigaku junior and senior high Tennis Clubs was starting a career in the Japan Tennis Association itself, as one of the athletes' therapists.

He took his glasses off and massaged the bridge of his nose. Tezuka always felt a migraine threatening after a certain person called him on his cell phone. He put his glasses on again and glanced at the open files in front of him. After a few moments of thinking, he mechanically began to tidy his desk. The mental conditions of Japan's top tennis players could wait until tomorrow. For now... he would deal with one fellow graduate of Seigaku.

---

The smile that greeted him when he opened the door was still the same.

"Tezuka," so was the soft voice that said his name.

He nodded, carefully keeping his face expressionless, "Fuji. Come in."

Fuji Shuusuke, tennis prodigy, gold medalist for two Olympics in a row and currently ATP's number three player, shrugged his coat off with a muttered _'Sorry for intruding.'_ from his smiling lips. Tezuka took the obviously expensive designer coat and put it on a hanger. After putting his boots beside the door, Fuji followed Tezuka to the living room.

"Sorry for calling so suddenly," he said seriously to his former captain, an apologetic smile on his face.

"It's nothing," Tezuka gestured Fuji to sit down on the couch, "But where were you when you called me?"

The smile on Fuji's face now could only be described as _'wistful'_, "The street tennis courts."

Tezuka raised an eyebrow as he went to the kitchen.

Fuji laughed, "You don't remember? The Regulars often went there in spare time. A lot of other schools' players went there, too. A good place to socialize with the league."

"I wouldn't know," the bespectacled young man came back with a mug of hot tea for his friend.

"Oh yes, I forgot," the smile turned wry this time, "You don't socialize."

"Aa."

A silence while the two of them sipped their tea. Fuji cupped both his hands on the steaming mug and closed his eyes. From the corner of his eyes, Tezuka looked at the other young man. Fuji was still thin, average-height and fragile-looking, an appearance that, in the past, made his opponents underestimate him. That was something they learned not to do anymore after they saw the smile he wore on his face when he received his first gold medal.

"Ah," Fuji sat up straighter and began to dig into his sports bag, "Ooishi and Eiji gave their best regards to you. And I got something for you from them."

Tezuka smiled faintly at the mention of the inseparable pair, "Where did you meet them?"

"Paris," the prodigy smiled too, "And Eiji made me promise that I'd drag you out of your office to, I quote, _'have fun'_."

Tezuka just folded his arms across his chest and gave Fuji a bland look.

He peered up at Tezuka through his bangs, a smile dancing on his lips, "It wasn't just Eiji. Ooishi supported it whole-heartedly."

A shrug, "That's Ooishi."

Fuji laughed, "They're worried about you, Mr. Perfect. It's almost a year since the last time we saw you."

"I'm fine."

"That's not what the JTA's representative in Paris said to us," he replied without looking, "He thought that you're overworking yourself."

"Us?"

The prodigy took a wrapped box from his bag and held it out to Tezuka without any preamble, "Me, Ooishi, Eiji and Echizen. He knows that you were our former captain in school."

"So Echizen was there too?" he accepted the gift.

Fuji looked at the stack of files on the coffee table and chuckled, "Don't tell me you didn't know that."

If Tezuka had been less dignified, he'd have rolled his eyes heavenward, "I know it, but it quite surprised me that he was there with you three."

"Saa," an innocent smile on the other's face, "He was worried about you too."

"You mean, Kikumaru twisted his arm to join you three," he commented dryly.

"Hmm, I wouldn't know," Fuji put a hand under his chin thoughtfully, "It sounds about right, though. Eiji is like that."

Tezuka just shook his head and looked down at the gift in his hand.

"Echizen muttered something along the line of _'That's Buchou for you.'_ when he heard it," the unpredictable prodigy grinned cheerfully, "And there was something about dragging you to onsen. Or something like that. I didn't hear it too clearly."

The former captain stared at Fuji with a bemused expression.

"Do you know Echizen still calls you Buchou?" Fuji laughed, "I heard some reporters are talking about digging all information about this _'Buchou'_ that Echizen Ryouma _'worships'_."

"They would be disappointed," Tezuka said calmly.

"I wouldn't say that," he replied seriously, "If anything else, it would be a good drama for Echizen's fans."

Tezuka's lips twitched at that. Echizen's fan club was famous throughout the men's tennis league. And the brat (yes, Tezuka still thought of him as the brat, sometimes) himself was known for both of his ruthless play style and his attitude. He still offered the same mocking smile to his opponents, although his _'Yaru jan.'_ had been replaced with an English _'Not bad.'_, a fact that amused the ex-Seigaku Regulars to no end.

"So does the JTA still want to weep over Echizen's personality?" Fuji grinned, giving the stack of files a meaningful glance.

Tezuka just gave him the Captain Look, "You know I can't tell you that."

"You don't have to," the prodigy replied a bit too cheerfully, "The Paris representative kept giving him tearful looks and muttering about an arrogant brat who is too much like the Samurai Nanjirou."

An eyebrow rose.

"And Echizen said _'Yaru jan.'_ to him, with his trademark smirk," Fuji chuckled.

Tezuka shook his head, "I really need to have A Talk with him," the way he said it, it's really obvious for the listener just where the emphasis was.

"Can I watch?" Fuji asked instantly.

Again, Tezuka raised an eyebrow at the shorter young man.

"Not even if I pay?" this time, he smiled innocently, but of course, Tezuka knew much better and the former captain refused to even acknowledge the question.

A silence fell upon them.

"Do we really not have other things to talk about?" this time, the prodigy's voice was very quiet.

Tezuka looked at the opened blue eyes and inwardly winced at the intensity of the stare.

His voice was still as calm as before, "What do you want to talk about, Fuji?"

"You. Me," his voice dropped even more, "Us."

"What is there to talk about?"

A painful smile appeared on Fuji's face, "Maybe there isn't for you."

Tezuka closed his eyes briefly, feeling the migraine again, "Fuji, what are you trying to say?"

A sigh, "If you still need to ask, then I don't have anything to say, Tezuka."

Fuji stood, giving another glance at the files on the table. At a loss of words, Tezuka stood also. He continued to stare at Fuji, silently wishing that the prodigy would just say what was on his mind.

"Tezuka," the brilliant smile that's usually appeared on the commercials and post-game ceremonies was directed at him now, "I'll be at my parents' house. You still have the number, right? If you ever need to call me..."

"Aa...," he trailed off, suddenly feeling a strange pain in his chest because of the smile that's obviously so faked, "Fuji, I..."

The shorter man stood just right before the door, finishing putting his boots on. Without words, Tezuka handed him his coat.

"I was hoping...," and Fuji smiled again, "Ah, never mind. I'll see you later, Tezuka."

With that, he went out of Tezuka's apartment, never turning back to see the other man.

Tezuka methodically and carefully rinsed the mugs, locked the door, turned off all the lights and went into bed.

---

The next morning, Tezuka woke up at his usual hour. He sat on the edge of his bed, trying to figure out an uneasy feeling inside him.

His eyes fell on to the still wrapped gift on his desk. He took his glasses and put them on, and started opening the wrapper. A faint smile appeared on his face when he saw a fountain pen with his family name engraved on the cap, but it wasn't all. He shook his head as he realized why the box was quite big for just a pen. A lion plushie looked up at him sternly and he took it out. A piece of a note fluttered on to the floor and he caught it swiftly with his free hand.

As he read the hand-written note, he shook his head again.

_Tezuka, stop working so hard, or you might end up looking like this plushie!   
Zannen munen, mata raishuu~!   
=^_^=v_

Tezuka could imagine clearly Kikumaru pointing the plushie out to Ooishi, and his former vice-captain just looking at his partner helplessly. And then after that, Kikumaru dragged Ooishi to buy it, insisting that _'Ooishi! It's for Tezuka nya! You have to agree!'_ Of course, Ooishi would just try to make the gift more 'Tezuka-ish' with the fountain pen.

The therapist sighed softly, another faint smile tugging the edges of his lips again. Suddenly he felt very warm.

Tezuka put the lion plushie on his pillow and went to take a bath.

But a pair of sharp blue eyes haunted his mind. He found that he couldn't stop thinking about the prodigy for the rest of the day.

---

_'Tezuka, aren't you forgetting something?'_

'Tezuka, we have to talk.'

'Tezuka, you do what's best for you. Leave Japan's tennis to me, Echizen and the others.'

'Tezuka, you're our new therapist? We're in such good hands, then.'

'Tezuka, you're working too hard.'

'Tezuka...'

'Tezuka...'

"Tezuka-sensei?"

He looked up sharply, "Ah, yes?"

His secretary gave him a puzzled look, "Sensei, have you finished the Wimbledon report? Touma-san called to ask for it a few minutes ago."

The former captain cursed himself inwardly as he looked at the unfinished report in front of him. He closed his eyes, took his glasses off and put his hand over his eyes.

"Tezuka-sensei, are you alright?" his secretary began to sound worried, "If you're not feeling well, I can tell Touma-san that the report will be sent in tomorrow. He won't mind."

He sighed, "I'm sorry. Please do."

"Sensei, you're overexerting yourself," the older woman sighed too as she tidied the files, "Please, just go home and get some rest."

"I'm fine. I'll finish the report here," he replied a bit stiffly, never used to her coddling him, "You can go home if you want."

His secretary just sighed again, painfully knew just how stubborn the therapist could be.

"I'll be outside," she said gently, as she closed the door behind her, "Excuse me, sensei."

Tezuka nodded wordlessly. But the hand which held the pen wasn't moving. He stared at the printed words on the file until the letters became blurred. The pen fell on to the desk.

He took his cell phone out and stared at the screen. His graceful fingers moved swiftly on the buttons until he found a name on the phone book. Tezuka hit the _'Yes'_ button and waited.

"Fuji desu," the soft voice answered.

"Fuji."

"Tezuka, what is it?" the prodigy asked, a worried tone creeping into his voice.

He fell silent for a while before replying, "What makes you think there's something?"

"Tezuka, your tone," Fuji answered patiently, "What is it?"

"I... I don't know," he said hesitantly, something that was foreign to him.

Silence. Tezuka couldn't even hear Fuji's breath. Just as he decided to hang up, Fuji suddenly chuckled.

"Want to have dinner together?" he asked in a playful tone.

"Aaahh... yes," Tezuka replied, feeling lightheaded although he didn't know what caused it, "But my schedule is a bit full."

"Well, I'll be here until next week. When are you free, Mr. Therapist?" the smile was obvious, even through the phone.

Tezuka took one look at his PDA, searching for free timeslots, "The day after tomorrow?"

"Saturday? Deal," he answered easily, "I'll meet you at your apartment at 7 p.m. then. See you in two days, Tezuka."

"Aa," the former captain flipped his phone shut and stared up at the ceiling.

Tezuka closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he looked down at the still unfinished report on his desk. He took the fountain pen from Kikumaru and Ooishi and began writing.

When his secretary knocked on his door and entered his office to say goodbye a few hours later, she was amazed to see the young man working nearly frantically on the file. Tezuka just gave her a faint smile, nodded and went back writing. The woman shook her head and left the therapist alone.

At nearly 9 p.m., his cell phone beeped suddenly. Tezuka took it without even looking away from the therapy report. He glanced at the display screen and absently noted the new e-mail he got. A slight frown appeared on his face when he looked at the sender's name.

From: **Echizen Ryouma**   
To: **Tezuka-buchou**   
  
Buchou, you used to say it to us. I'm saying it this time.   
Yudan sezu ni ikou. 

Tezuka stared at the Roman alphabets for a long time. Echizen often did things that didn't make sense to anyone, but this e-mail defeated them all. What could the brat possibly mean with those three lines? And where had he got Tezuka's phone address anyway?

His thumb hovered on the _'Yes'_ button when the display flashed _'Delete?'_. But for reasons he didn't even know himself, he finally hit the _'No'_ button and exited the Inbox. When the screen was finally back to the usual mountain wallpaper, he put the phone down. He tried to get back to his therapy report, but he found Echizen's voice repeating the three lines over and over in his head

He gave up and went home.

---

Tezuka spent the next Friday morning and afternoon in a daze. His clients and secretary were never going to know the difference, but the young therapist couldn't get Echizen's e-mail out of his mind.

He went home at exactly 5 p.m., earning a raised eyebrow from his secretary, who was inwardly happy that her young boss wasn't going to commit suicide with work overload. He was just getting out of the bathroom when his cell phone rang. He put his glasses on and took the phone from his bedside table. The eyes behind the glasses widened slightly as he read the caller's name on the display.

"Tezuka desu," he answered the call calmly, pushing the urge to wonder about the purpose of the call.

"Tezuka, it's Ooishi," Tezuka could almost see the smile on the other's face and the worried glint on his eyes, "How are you?"

"Ooishi," he acknowledged his best friend, "I'm fine. What about you?"

"Aahh, we just got home from New York. Eiji is here and he says hi to you."

True enough, Tezuka could hear the spirited voice talking cheerfully in the background, saying things like _'Have fun, Tezuka nyan!'_ and _'Should I just draaaaaag you outside nya?'_.

He couldn't help smiling faintly, "Give my regards to him."

"Oh, I will," Ooishi laughed, "Ne, we met Fuji at Paris and he said that he was going to visit you. Has he...?"

"Aa," he replied, "Fuji came here two days ago. And he gave me your gift. Thank you."

"I'm glad," the former vice-captain said gently, "But, Fuji... Was there anything he said to you, Tezuka?"

Tezuka blinked, "Such as?"

A short silence.

Then Ooishi chuckled, "Never mind what I said. Na, Tezuka..."

"Yes?" Tezuka frowned slightly. He didn't get what Ooishi meant, and it was strange to see that his best friend being vague like this.

"Sometimes," Ooishi's tone turned conversational, but the former captain could still hear the strain under it, "Sometimes, waiting for too long is stressful. Especially when both people know each other's feeling perfectly."

"Ooishi?"

"So I don't want those people to be careless and have regrets. I want them to stop waiting. I want them to finally **talk**, instead of just denying their feelings."

Silence again as Tezuka tried to figure the words out.

"And I want those people to be happy," the kind smile was almost visible from the words.

"Ooishi..."

"Ah, I have to go now, Tezuka. We're having dinner at Eiji's house," Ooishi's voice rushed the words, "We'll visit you next week, okay?"

"... Aa," he was at loss of words to say.

"See you later, Tezuka!"

The athletes' therapist stared at the cell phone in his hand for a long time. He shook his head as he put some clothes on. What was Ooishi talking about? Whom were the people he was talking about?

He glanced at the phone on the table and he was surprised to, again, hear Echizen's voice reciting the three lines on his e-mail.

Tezuka pushed the e-mail and the phone call away from his mind as he attacked his therapy reports with abandon.

---

On Saturday mornings, Tezuka usually either went out fishing or visited his parents' house. This particular Saturday morning, he stared at the TV screen blankly, thinking about the dinner appointment with a certain prodigy.

"Tezuka."

Surprised, he looked up to see the blue eyes opened and frighteningly serious.

"Fuji? I thought we're meeting here tonight?" he found he couldn't look away from the eyes.

"What are you waiting for?" the prodigy stopped in front of Tezuka.

"How did you get in here? I locked the door."

"What are you waiting for?" his soft voice was low and deadly.

Tezuka took a deep breath to reply, feeling annoyed, but he never got the chance. Fuji stepped forward and bent down. The bespectacled young man exhaled in surprise when he realized that Fuji was kissing him. He tried to dislodge the shorter man's arms from around him, but somehow it just caused Fuji to simply drop down on his lap. Tezuka's hands hesitantly rose to settle on Fuji's back. He could feel a smile against his lips and sighed. He closed his eyes and continued kissing Fuji.

Sometime later, Tezuka felt a finger against his lips, "Tezuka, look at me."

With his eyes still closed, Tezuka said in a low voice, "Fuji, why did you do it?"

A soft laugh.

"Tezuka, look at me," the fingers moved against his cheek, "Please."

The former tennis player opened his eyes. Fuji wore a gentle smile on his face, not the plastic smile he wore for his fans, not the cruel smile he gave to his opponents.

"Fuji...," he said hesitantly.

"Tezuka, I'm tired of waiting," the prodigy said calmly, "We're not getting any younger, and frankly, you're too cautious to start anything. So I started it. As simple as that."

Tezuka closed his eyes briefly when he felt the migraine coming again.

"Tezuka," the gentle smile that was so rare on the other's face was his and his alone, "We know each other's feelings. And I'm not going to go anywhere. So you'd better start to get used to see my things here."

Silence fell as Tezuka looked at the intense blue eyes, softened with the smile.

Fuji ran his fingers through Tezuka's hair, still smiling gently, "I don't want us to have regrets. And I want us to stop waiting. You're getting careless over yourself, and I want to be here to make sure that you're not."

_'Yudan sezu ni ikou.'_

'And I want those people to be happy.'

He finally understood what Ooishi had meant on the phone the night before. And he understood what Echizen's cryptic e-mail meant.

And suddenly he laughed.

"Tezuka?" Fuji tilted his head as he regarded the usually stoic young man.

He smiled, feeling refreshed and clear-headed, "Yudan sezu ni ikou."

The prodigy laughed too when he heard the all too familiar line.

"Only you, Mr. Perfect. Only you."

This time, Tezuka kissed Fuji first. He wrapped his arms around the smaller young man and buried his face on Fuji's soft hair.

"Fu... Shuusuke," he said with a muffled voice.

"Hmm?" Fuji's voice was equally muffled by Tezuka's shirt.

"Remind me to thank Echizen, Kikumaru and Ooishi properly."

"Oh, I will, Kunimitsu. Hmm, I always wanted to say it. Kunimitsu."

"Shuusuke."

And they kissed again.

**FIN**

**ANNEX**

"Echizen here."

"Echizen."

"Ah, Fuji-sempai."

"Nnn. Thank you."

"Oh, so it worked?"

"Of course."

"Heeeh. Yaru jan, Tezuka-buchou."

"Echizen."

"Fine, fine. Congratulations. I guess."

"Thank you. Saa, I'll be calling Eiji and Ooishi now."

"Heeeh."

_Click_

"Kikumaru de~~~~su!"

"Eiji, where are you?"

"Eh, Fuji? At Ooishi's house! What's up?"

"Just want to say thank you to you and Ooishi."

"Eh...? Ah~! Ooishi~! We did it~! Wai~! Congrats nya!"

"Thank you. See, even the hardest wall can be destroyed after all, ne?"

"Nnnn. But Fuji, the way you plotted the whole thing... does Tezuka know?"

"Maa, ne. I don't think so. Anyway, I have to go now. Thank you again, Eiji. Tell that to Ooishi too, please?"

"Of course! We'll come to visit you both next week nya!"

"I'll tell Kunimitsu. See you, Eiji."

"Zannen munen, mata raishuu~! Eh...? Did you just say Kuni--"

_Click_

"Ooishi desu."

"Ooishi-sempai, this is Echizen. Can I talk to Eiji-sempai?"

"Ah, Echizen! Sure, hold on a moment. Eiji~!"

"Hoi~! What? Ochibi on the phone? Ochibi~! Hey, what is it?"

"Eiji-sempai, you owe me."

"What~? What do you mean~?"

"Our bet. Tezuka-buchou and Fuji-sempai."

"Ochibi, you're not the only one giving Tezuka a push! I wrote him a note!"

"I e-mailed him."

"Well, Ooishi called him! Nyah!"

"..."

"..."

"Let's just forget the whole thing nya."

"Che. Mada mada dane."

_Click_

**FIN** (for real ~__^)

**Notes** :   
1. Okay... so on the manga and anime, I guess it's probably FujiZuka... But this fanfic came into existence because of TeniMyu, and the boys' behaviors off the show... *is still convinced that the boys slash themselves with each other happily* On the musical, there's absolutely no way for Fuji to be seme, because Kimeru is an absolute uke. *runs away from Kime-chan's fans* A devilish and manipulative uke, probably, but an uke nonetheless... XP As for Tezuka, TakiEiji-buchou makes him **THE** seme of the show (*looks at Sugawara-san's Tachibana* ... Well, at least on the 1st TeniMyu...). Probably can only be defeated by Souta's Inui-oujiseme (all of you who have watched it, you know what I mean, right? *grins*).   
2. Yes, you can imagine Kou-chan as Ryouma and Tsucchii as Ooishi here. ... As for Kikumaru, take your pick, Nagayan or Ichi-kun. XP I don't care. I adore both of them equally. *grins*   
3. Please forgive me, Eizee, for imagining your 'wife' with Buchou here. I'll return him, and your 'daughter' too, to you now. *gets bricked*   
4. This fic is mostly inspired by a 'happy family' pic where Kime-chan has his arm around Buchou's shoulders, his chin on Buchou's left shoulder and a very sultry smile on his face (and I'll just very conveniently forget the fact that Kou-chan sits on Buchou's lap on that pic, thank you very much >___>).

Credits to **Eve** and her **Wuxia no Oujisama** for pointing the similarities between Tezuka and a lion. *gets bricked*

Finished: December 12, 2003.   
Edited on Thursday, December 17, 2003

Thanks to **Paralda Blue** for beta-ing it. ^^


End file.
